Almost lost my dog after she slipped her harness on a busy street

I was walking near the intersection of 5th and Main last Tuesday when a loud truck backfired and my golden retriever pulled so hard she slipped right out of her harness. I had to chase her half a block before she stopped at a fire hydrant. Has anyone else dealt with a dog that can wiggle out of a harness no matter how tight you make it?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_miles1mo ago

Sucks when you think the harness is tight enough and it just fails like that.

taylor.hayden1mo ago

oh man, that exact thing happened to my friend jenna with her labradoodle. she had one of those fancy step-in harnesses that you think is going to be foolproof, but nope. a squirrel ran across the sidewalk and the dog just backed up and twisted and popped right out. jenna chased her through three backyards and a neighbor's open garage before she got cornered next to a grill. she said the harness was literally as tight as she could make it without choking the dog. now she only uses ones that clip around the chest and behind the front legs with a secondary strap.

the_christopher1mo ago

Well that's definitely scary but honestly @taylor.hayden I gotta push back a little here. In my experience those step-in harnesses with the chest strap are ACTUALLY worse because dogs can twist out of them sideways too. I've had way better luck with a simple front-clip harness where the leash attaches on the chest. That way if they pull hard the harness cinches TIGHTER instead of loosening up.